morne Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi My name is Morne. Ive recently bought myself a Yamaha XR350 1997. I have never ridden a big bike before, always just small automatics. Mostly this was the sort of tourist bikes you get in Greece on Thailand etc. So Im not sure how things work here exactly, but Im going to probably ask quite a few questions through the course of time. Starting off with something that happened last night on a training ride. I rode for probably 20km and was just around the corner from home. I turned onto a small street and accelerated quite mildly and shifted into second. Again accelerated mildly. I wasnt going fast and the revs was not really high. I dont know what I did but I accidentally shifted the bike back to first without using the clutch. I did not notice anything wrong as I shifter back to 2nd and on to 3rd. After about 300 meters I arrived home. I put the stand out and tried to select neutral. But neutral was gone and still is. I tried quite a few times. It seems like it might be going from 1st to 2nd. It does not matter how lightly or carefully I tried to shift it, it does not go to neutral. So I guess my obvious question is, could I have done a bit of damage to the bike with my downshift, or is ther possibly something im not thinking about? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slice Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi Morne and welcome to the YOC I bet you are not turning the rear wheel as you try to get the bike into neutral, unlike cars bikes need to have the rear wheel or rear sprocket moving slightly to get the gears to change, try this, put the bike on the centre stand, hold the rear wheel with your right hand and use your left to move the gear lever rock the rear wheel back and forth while moving the gear lever that should solve your problem or sit on the bike and rock it back and forth while changing gear with your left foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted October 29, 2014 Moderator Share Posted October 29, 2014 yeah rock the bike back and forth and move the lever gently, you'll find neutral that way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacha Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 weak detent spring. pushes ball into shift drum at neutral , this also earths the neutral light,,, ,,,welcome.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morne Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Thanks for all the replies. Yep, did that and it worked. Now for the next question, but I will probably need to make a new thread for this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewElvisFan Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Hi and welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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